Join Cooperatives To Defeat Middlemen

OMORO – Middlemen, according to farmers in Omoro District, are raking in all the profits and paying peanuts for unprocessed millet, sorghum, maize and soya-beans.

The farmers claim they have fallen easy prey to middlemen who buy produce at a giveaway price since many cannot add value to their crop.

Joyce Akullu, 36, a millet farmer, said middlemen are exploiting them because they have no milling machine. They cannot sell a processed product.

“You can imagine what a farmer goes through, we almost toil for nothing, middlemen are the ones who benefit more,’’ she said.

Our leaders have not helped much to lobby for resources to see to it that we get a milling machine,” she said.

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Thomas Opio, who has grown soya-beans for the last 15 years, said apart from being cheated by the middlemen, they also pass on fake cash notes.

“Some middlemen come with fake money and they steal even the little we could have got. Our plight can only be alleviated if we add value to what we produce,” he said.

Bernard Okumu Obina, the commercial officer Omoro District, said there is an idle milling machine in the district.

“The milling machine has been in the district for the last three years but the district has no capacity to have a transformer in place to run the machine,” he said

Several pleas have been made to higher offices but nothing positive has come through, he added.

But Jackson Okwera, the chairman Puranga- Gem Cooperative Society, advised farmers to consider joining cooperatives so that they can have a better bargaining power since they will be selling in bulk.

“Fellow farmers should join us so that we can push for what we feel is needed to help farmers,” he advised.

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Kwania Farmers Sign Sorghum Growing Deal

KWANIA – Farmers in Kwania have agreed a deal that effectively leaps sorghum to the front-of-the-line of crops grown on a large scale in the northern district.

Several farmers signed up to start sorghum growing on an estimated 60,000 acres of land when the rains start in August 2021.

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The agreement was signed on May 24 by Washington Onyum, the general secretary of Kwania District Farmers’ Cooperatives and Global Educational Network in Uganda (GENU) on behalf of 518 members from the sub counties of Inomo, Abongomola, Aduku, Nambieso and Chawente.

The cooperatives and GENU are partnering with Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) and KCB Bank, to promote the growing of sorghum.

GENU is a non-governmental organization promoting sorghum growing in the northern districts of Lira, Dokolo, Alebtong, Otuke, Kole, Kwania, Lamwo, Kitgum, and Pader – largely to alleviate household poverty.

The two year project will see GENU supply over 500 metric tons of quality seeds to Kwania District cooperatives at subsidized prices and later buy at farm gate prices.

Onyum described the move as a big boost to farmers in the district.

“Farmers who are members of the cooperative will harvest their produce, which is bulked and sold to UBL at Shs 1, 500 per kilogram and once the money is deposited on the union account, it will be distributed to farmers and the cooperative gets a commission.” he said.

He urged the youth to join the venture.

Bongomin Zorish Lander, the Executive Director of GENU, said most sorghum farmers in northern Uganda have been growing the local variety mainly for home consumption.

“Most farmers growing sorghum in northern Uganda have been growing the local variety mainly for home consumption. However, with the increased market demand from the brewing industries, farmers should shift to growing hybrid varieties, which are suitable for brewing beer.” he said.

Mike Gulu, an excited member of Kwania District Farmers’ Cooperative, said without modern agricultural equipment like tractors, tarpaulins, most farmers might not reap big profits.

“In 2018 we ventured into growing crops such as rice but it was not profitable, we decided to venture into drying chili for export but it did not work out due to lack of modern agricultural equipment. Now that we have agreed to venture into sorghum, the organization should address the challenge of agricultural equipment,” he said.

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Sugarcane Out-growers Plant Cashew Nuts

AMURU – Sugarcane out-growers in the northern district of Amuru have broken with tradition – they have added cashew nuts to their outgrowing enterprise.

Atiak Sugarcane out-growers Cooperative Society Limited has grown and supplied sugarcane to Atiak Sugar Factory in Amuru district since its formation in 2016.

However, this year, the cooperative has added cashew nut growing to conserve the environment and swell their purse too.

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Cashew nuts are handy drought-resistant perennial trees that take three years to bear fruit and harvests begin at eight years. There are new breeds though, such as the dwarf cashew nuts, which bear fruit within a year and harvests begin after three years.

Joyce Santa Laker, the chairperson of the cooperative, said farmers took on cashew nuts to conserve the environment.

“Cashew nuts are trees, so planting them is like reforestation, which protects the environment against harsh weather. Besides, when mature, the fruits can be harvested for more than 30 years, which will give the cooperative a stable source of income,” Laker said.

The sugarcane outgrowers cooperative has planted 40 acres of cashew nuts in Omoro, Gulu and Amuru districts. The seedlings were supplied by Operation Wealth Creation, OWC, through NAADs.

Background

In 2017, President Museveni directed the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries to include cashew nuts among the main commodities to improve the livelihood of small holder farmers.

In Acholi, large scale cashew nuts growing began in 2018 after President Museveni met some farmers in Amuru and touted the commercial viability of the crop.

After the meeting, the president allowed farmers to travel to Tanzania, where cashew nuts are massively grown, to learn more. Since then numerous farmers in Acholi sub region have gotten cashew nuts seedings from Operation Wealth Creation to open up large farms.

Through the National Agricultural Advisory Services, the government allocated Shs 1bn for the procurement of improved cashew nut seedlings. In 2019, at least 166,960 seedlings were procured and distributed to demonstration farmers who planted 2,000 acres in 28 districts in the sub regions of; Karamoja, Acholi, Westnile, Teso and Lango.

Cashew nuts is used for manufacturing varnishes, paints, typewriter rolls, oil cloths, gum and water proof papers, among others. It has nutritional benefits too, such as magnesium, protein, manganese, zinc, copper and potential source of vitamin C.

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Sugarcane Cooperatives Will Save Farmers

MASINDI – On his inauguration day, May 20, Cosmas Byaruhanga promised to use his second term as Masindi District LCV chairperson to get farmers in all sectors in the western district organized into cooperatives, especially sugarcane cooperatives.

“We are going to mobilize farmers to organize themselves into cooperatives because when they are in cooperatives they will be understanding each other. This will also help them have a bargaining ground to demand what is due to them,” said Byaruhanga, who said is serving his last term as LC-V chairman.

He was sworn into office together with all elected district leaders by Masindi Chief Magistrate, Johnson Ssejjemba at the district headquarters.

Byaruhanga also said he wants to ensure that sugarcane farmers are organized into cooperatives.

“Sugarcane is the backbone of Masindi. It pumps more than Shs 3 billion in the district in a year. All the developments you are seeing in Masindi are because of sugarcane,” Byaruhanga explained.

In all, 38 councilors were sworn in from 18 sub counties and town councils, which form Masindi District.

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The function was also attended by the newly elected members of parliament; Kenneth Kiiza Nyendwoha for Bujenje Constituency, Ronald Akugizibwe Aled, for Buruli County and Joab Businge, for Masindi Municipality.

They all promised to work with the LC-V to develop the district.

Background

Earlier this year, Byaruhanga pushed for the revival of all sugarcane cooperatives formed by sugarcane farmers in the 1970s.

“Sugarcane cooperatives are so necessary. They would help sugarcane farmers during times of crisis. These sugarcane cooperatives existed and we are now going to trace their registration numbers. I know they are there with the registrar of cooperatives,” said Byaruhanga, who is also the chairperson of Masindi District Sugarcane Farmers Association Limited (MASGAL). He was speaking then during an extra ordinary meeting for Bwijanga Coffee Farmers Cooperative in Bwijanga Sub County.

Byaruhanga explained that they need to revive sugarcane cooperatives so that they can form a union, which will give them a firm bargaining ground to lobby for their own sugar factory.

“If we want to get our own sugar factory, that’s the only way to go. Let’s unite into cooperatives if we are to address our challenges,” he noted.

He added that sugarcane farmers are grappling with many challenges such as over grown cane, spillage, low prices and too much cane.

“These challenges can be addressed when we have got our own sugar factory. We have a lot of cane which can feed it.

According to the statistics from MASGAL, there are over 7000 sugarcane out growers in Masindi district producing around 1.2 million tons of sugarcane.

Byaruhanga is optimistic that with this number they can get a sugar factory and sustain it.

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